1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an authentication method, a program for implementing the method, and a storage medium storing the program, and more particularly, to an authentication method that carries out personal identification required when using applications in an IC card storing a plurality of applications, and a program for implementing the method, and a storage medium storing the program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a device for personal identification generally called an IC card has come into increasing use as a device for carrying out authentication in a variety of situations, from using in-company information devices and entering/exiting facilities to using services in financial, information communications and medical fields as well as services on the Internet. Information needed to use these services can be installed in the IC card.
Further, in addition to the ability to store information needed to use a variety of services on the IC card, more advanced and more complex processing, such as encryption and addition/subtraction of account information, have come to be required of the IC card, and for these applications an IC card called a multi-application card is used. The multi-application card not only stores information adapted to multiple services but can also accommodate a plurality of card applications having a variety of capabilities. Java Card (registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.) and MULTOS (Multi-application Operating System) are such multi-application cards that have come to be widely used.
Usually, in a system that uses an IC card, when a user accesses the IC card, the user inputs authentication information such as an authentication code (PIN) or a fingerprint through a user interface provided by a terminal application installed in a terminal device to carry out authentication for that IC card. Here, in order to further an understanding of the usual authentication procedure where a multi-application card is used, a description will be given of an authentication system using a multi-application card shown in FIG. 15 as an example.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram schematically showing the construction of the conventional authentication system.
As shown in FIG. 15, an IC card 1200 has stored thereon a card application (CA1) 1210 and a card application (CA2) 1220, with each card application provided with authentication information in the form of a PIN1 1211 and a PIN2, 1221. Moreover, the card application (CA1) 1210 is provided with a user ID password 1212 and the card application (CA2) 1220 is provided with accounting information 1222. It should be noted that, for simplification, although the card application (CA1) 1210 and the card application (CA2) 1220 are both given PINs as authentication information, alternatively, fingerprint or other information may be used as the authentication information.
A terminal device 1100 has installed therein a terminal application (TA1) 1110 and a terminal application (TA2) 1120 for accessing the card application (CA1) 1210 and the card application (CA2) 1220, respectively. The terminal device 1100 is equipped with an input device 1300 for inputting a PIN and an IC card reader 1400 for scanning the IC card 1200.
When the user uses the terminal application (TA1) 1110, the user enters a PIN from the input device 1300 through a user interface provided by the terminal application (TA1) 1110. Then, the terminal application (TA1) 1110 selects the card application (CA1) 1210 on the IC card 1200 (SELECT) and verifies the card application (CA1) 1210 using the entered PIN (VERIFY PIN 1). The card application (CA1) 1210 provides the results of checking the PIN (whether verification has succeeded or failed) to the terminal application (TA1) 1110. When using the user terminal application (TA2) 1120, the user carries out verification of the card application (CA2) 1220 in the same way (VERIFY PIN 2) as described above.
On the other hand, another conventional technology has been proposed that concentrates the comparison function of comparing between card application authentication information and user input authentication information either in a shared module in the IC card or in a shared module of the terminal (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-298097, for example).
However, when carrying out authentication using the method shown in the conventional technique in FIG. 15, the user must carry out the authentication process each time the user needs to switch terminal applications and/or card applications, and each of the card applications must maintain authentication information as well as the ability to compare that authentication information with the user input authentication information. Accordingly, there is much unnecessary processing where it is desired that the authentication information be set so as to be shared between card applications. Moreover, the user also must select separate authentication information for the card applications, thus complicating authentication information management.
For example, in the conventional technique shown in FIG. 15, when the user uses the terminal device 1100, the user enters a PIN for the terminal application (TA1) 1110, and obtains permission to use the terminal device 1100 as a result of the authentication for the card application (CA1) 1210 being successful. However, in the event that the user must then use the terminal application (TA2) 1120 and scan or change the information in the card application (CA2) 1220, the user has to carry out another authentication for the card application (CA2) 1220 in addition to the authentication for the card application (CA1) 1210.
In particular, although the functions of the card application (CA1) 1210 and of the card application (CA2) 1220 are independent, where it is assumed that these functions are to be used only on the same terminal device 1100 and operate in tandem, the absurdity of carrying out a separate authentication procedure for each card application becomes significant.
One method of solving the foregoing problem involves concentrating the functions of comparing the card application authentication information and the user input authentication information either in a shared module on the IC card or in a shared module of the terminal, as disclosed by the aforementioned Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-298097.
However, because the user input authentication information is once received by one of the card applications to be used and delivered to the shared module in the IC card, the other card application which, when used, in actuality, does not need to receive the authentication information but only needs to confirm the authentication status for the one card application must still carry out the unnecessary process of directly receiving the authentication information and delivering that authentication information to the shared module. Moreover, causing a card application that does not require direct receipt of authentication information to receive the authentication information is undesirable from a security standpoint as well.
Furthermore, for example, where it is subsequently desired to switch the method of checking the authentication information from the checking of character information such as a PIN that the user inputs using a keyboard or the like to the checking of biometric information such as a fingerprint, since all the modules that carry out authentication information reception and authentication information checking must be changed, that is, not only the shared module but also the card applications that receive the authentication information must necessarily be changed.